Breredith
by A-edwards
Summary: The Starkids can all tell Brian and Meredith have feelings for eachother, all the starkids except Brian and Meredith. To get them together their friends give them a little push. Breredith
1. Chapter 1

Julia pushed open the door of the girls' Starkid Manor and walked in. In the living room, Denise, Jaime, and Lauren were sitting on the various chairs and couches scattered around the room watching TV.

"Do you guys ever eat real food when I'm not here?" Julia asked upon seeing the microwave meals in each of the girls' hands.

"Nope. Not really." Lauren replied through mouthfuls of easy mac.

"Sometimes we make spaghetti." Denise piped up.

"At least I know I'm needed," Julia said sarcastically as she walked by them and into the kitchen. She sat her purse and jacket down on an empty chair at the table. Then she headed over to the fridge to see what leftovers she could make for herself. After finding something that still smelled normal she heading back into the living room and sat down.

As they all chowed down Jaime asked, "How was rehearsal with Corey?"

"Uggghhhh" Julia groaned. "We really need to step it up. There is no way we'll be ready in a week."

"Ya we will. We always pull it together in time somehow," Lauren reassured her as she walked back to the kitchen to throw away her garbage.

"Or if we're running late we can just not have props or lighting or anything and just go with it," Julia replied. "Speaking of late, where's Meredith?"

"She's nannying until ten tonight," Denise answered.

"Oohh yay! Let's talk about her while she's not here!" Lauren teased as she rejoined the girls. They all giggled. "But for real, what is up with her and Brian?"

There was a unanimous groan from everyone in the room. Someone asked this question at least once a week and the answer was always the same. Nothing.

"You know, for being actors, they really suck at acting," Jaime said. Everyone in the cast could tell they had feelings for each other. Everyone except Meredith and Brian.

"If they aren't going to get together on their own, maybe we should give them a push in the right direction," Lauren said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Meddling never helps anything, Lauren," Julia chided.

"But you know they'll never get up the courage to admit their feelings!" The girls nodded in agreement.

"Ok fine!" Julia said throwing up her hands in defeat. "But when this goes wrong I have the right to say 'I told you so'."

"I'll take it! Now here's he plan" Lauren said as the girls brought their heads closer together.


	2. Chapter 2

"Okay, its something you drink out of," Dylan said quickly, looking at his teammates expectantly.  
"Cup!" Jim shouted in his deep voice.

"Glass?" said Joe.

"The toilet!" said Brian, trying to throw everyone off-track.

The Starkid boys were playing a late night game of Catch Phrase. It was Brant Cox, Brian Holden, Joey Richter, Joe Moses, and Nick Lang versus Dylan Saunders, Matt Lang, Joe Walker, Corey Lubowich, and Jim Povolo. Fast-paced and heated, Catch Phrase was one of their favorite games. They were sprawled around the den of Starkid Manor, munching on Red Vines and chips.

"It usually holds some sort of alcohol," added Dylan, trying to get his team to guess. The room fell silent as the boys tried to think. Dylan searched his brain for another clue.

"Mad-Eye Moody drinks from one!" Dylan said desperately.

"HIP FLASK!" everyone exploded at once.

"Yes!" squealed Dylan, smacking the button and handing it off to Nick.

After glancing at the machine, Nick said, "Um, its written on traffic signs."

"Speed limit!" guessed Joey.

"Graffiti?" said Brant.

Nick shook his head. "Its what you do when you come to a light that's red."

"GO!" screamed Brian.

Everyone turned to stare at him, then the room exploded in laughter. Brian realized what he had said and tried explaining that he thought Nick was going to say "green", but the boys were too busy cracking up. Every time it would start to die down, they would see Brian's protesting face and dissolve into laughter again. Finally, everyone stopped, red-faced and gasping for breath.

The timer must have gone off during all the noise so Jim turned it over and the game continued uneventfully until it was Joey's turn. The clock was ticking and the pressure was on. Perfect, thought Brian. If I can pull off a last minute win, I might manage to regain my dignity.

"Okay, she's an actress," Joey started.

"Angelina Jolie."

"Shirley Temple."

"Beyonce," said Nick.

"She's a singer, not an actress!" protested Matt. Nick just shrugged.

"She's always thought of as very beautiful," added Joey.

"MEREDITH," screamed Brian suddenly. For the second time that night, everyone's heads swiveled towards him. Brian's cheeks flushed. The boys were surprised. Where had that come from? "Uhhhhhh…Meredith um Smith, you know her right? She was in, uh, that one movie?" Brian mumbled pitifully.

The time ran out and the buzzer rang through the stunned silence. Wordlessly, Joey slammed the button and passed it to Joe Walker. Shaking his head, Joe said, "Alright, um, when you're really embarassed, you…?"

"Hide," said Jim, bringing the game back to high-speed.

"Blush!" said Corey.

Brian blushed as Corey side-glanced at him. Meredith? Where had that come from? It was like that word had just appeared on his tongue. What did Lauren call it? Word vomit? Yes. Brian had just word vomited. He couldn't help think of Meredith, who word-vomited more than anyone else he knew. But that wasn't bad, was it? Brian shook his head and tried to focus on the game again. It was his team's turn again, and Brant had the disk.

Brant glanced down at the word and grinned. "What Brian's gonna get when he runs a red light."

"ARRESTED," stated Jim. The room erupted in laughter yet again, but this time Brian joined in. Whether it was the huge amounts of sugar they had consumed that night or the fact that they were together, the friends laughed for a good 10 minutes.

Finally, tears welling in his eyes, Brian stood up and said, "I gotta pee!" A few more laughs burst from his lips as his scurried to the bathroom. As soon as the door closed, the room went silent.

"Sooo…Meredith?" said Joey, voicing all of their thoughts.

"I knew it. I knew it! Mere and Brian, sittin' in a tree…" Joe Moses started.

"Shut up!" Joe Walker scolded, his eyes flicking to the bathroom. "But seriously, Brian and Meredith."

"Cutest couple ever," Nick said firmly.

"Do you think they really like each other?" asked Corey.

Dylan nodded. "I think they're just too scared to admit it."

The boys sat in silence for a few moments while the toilet flushed, then Joey asked, "So how do we get them together?"


	3. Chapter 3

Five days until the show opened and things were not going as planned. They had just gotten the puppets in and no one had he feel for them. The costumes weren't done and the music still had kinks. Julia was freaking out and everyone was stressed.

While Joey and Brant rehearsed the opening scene a few of the boys huddled together in the corner.

"So is everyone clear on the plan?" Joe Walker asked the group. He was answered by nods from Joe Moses, Dylan, Jim and Nick.

The night before they had deliberated for what seemed like hours on the best way to get Brian and Meredith together. After many bad ideas they finally came up with a winner, get them alone together. The plan was so simple and straightforward there was no way it could fail.

"Ok, so I'll tell Meredith that Brant's puppet is having some issues and I need the hot glue gun to fix it," Nick said.

"And I'll tell Brian that Clark left his sheet music in the costume shop last night and needs it to finish Get Back Up," Joe Walker told the group.

"And once they're both in there the magic begins," Dylan said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Let's do this thing." Joe Moses said definitively. The group split up to get to work.

Nick went upstairs to where he and Meredith had been working on costumes all day. He found her putting some of the finished costumes back on the rack.

"Hey Meredith?" Nick called over to her.

"What's up?" she replied turning around.

"I'm having some problems with this puppet's wing," he explained holding up the roach puppet. "Can you go down the shop and get me the hot glue gun?"

"Sure thing!" she replied and headed down stairs.

Mean while, Joe Walker had set off to find Brian. Eventually he found him sitting with Matt doing absolutely nothing. Good thing Julia isn't here to see them working so hard. Joe thought to himself as he walked over to the guys.

"Hey Brian, Clark needs to work on Get Back Up but he left his music in the costume shop last night. You know him, always misplacing stuff. But anyway, can you grab it and run it up to him? I would but my cue is coming up," he kicked himself inwardly. His over explanation might just give him away.

Luckily Brian didn't seem to notice his out of character behavior. "Sure. Is he working upstairs?" Brian asked as he stood up.

"Ya, he is."

"Ok then."

"Thanks Brian!" Joe yelled at his back as he walked away. He looked down at Matt with a grin and said, "The plan is in action." A smile crept its way across Matt's face.

In the costume shop Brian searched high and low for the music until he found it sitting in a pile under a table. He crawled under to grab it as he heard the door open.

"Hi Brian," he heard. Without looking up he knew who it was. He would know that voice anywhere.

"Hey Mere," he replied as he scooted out from under the table. Unfortunately, he stood up too fast and hit his head on the under side of the table. "Ahh," he exclaimed and rubbed his hand over the bump already forming on the back of his head.

"Are you ok?" Meredith asked concern thick in her voice. She walked over to him to check out his injuries.

"Ya it's fine." Brian looked up and realized Meredith had crossed the room and was standing feet from him. "I haven't seen you around much today."

"I've been upstairs helping Nick finish costumes all day. He needed a hot glue gun," she explained holding up the gun.

"I see," he said. In the silence that followed Brian had a thought, "Hey Meredith, I was wondering if you wanted to-" he was cut off by the door opening. In unison their heads swiveled around to see who it was.

"Hi guys," Clark said as he walked in. "You wouldn't have happened to see some sheet music around anywhere? I think I left it down here last night."

"Oh ya," Brian said and handed it over. "Joe told me you needed it."

"That's weird. I haven't seen Joe since this morning. I guess he just figured I'd need it when I came back in." He said taking the folder from Brian's hand. "Well tell him thanks for me." Clark said as he backed out of the room.

When they were alone again Meredith asked, "So what is it you were going to say a minute ago?"

"I was just saying-" again he was interrupted by Clark poking his head into the room.

"Oh Brian, I need you. We gotta work out this once section of the Kick It Up A Notch reprise."

Brian gave Meredith an apologetic smile and walked out of the room.


	4. Chapter 4

"GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE!" screamed a loud voice in Julia's ear. She jolted awake and almost smacked foreheads with her best friend and roommate, who was shaking the whole bed with her excited bounces.

"Ittttttttsss load-in day!" announced Lauren Lopez with way too much energy for 6 AM. Julia groaned and covered her face with her pillow. Lauren gave her one last shove before jumping off Julia's bed and onto her own. "Come on, come on, come on! We're burnin' daylight here!"

Julia groaned one more time before sitting up and stretching. "You sound like my mother," said Julia, throwing her pillow at Lauren's grinning face.

"Oh, it's on," said Lauren seriously, swatting the other girl as hard as she could. It soon turned into a full-on pillow-fight until Julia held up her hands as a signal to stop.

"Wait!" she cried as Lauren was about to hit her again. "Are the other girls awake yet?" The two fell silent as they listened for sounds of getting ready in the room next to theirs that Jaime, Meredith, and Denise shared. Silence.

"I have an idea," said Lauren mischievously. She quickly whispered the plan to Julia, then smacked each other a high-five.

Still clad in pajamas and socks, the two girls crept to the big bedroom belonging to the other girls. Lauren would not stop giggling. "Shut up!" whispered Julia as she twisted the doorknob and stepped into the dark room. Lauren covered her mouth as she held up her fingers. 3, 2, 1.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! SUBETENYAH! SHSENBISUMBABO shishiboom!" The lights snapped on as Julia and Lauren started singing The Lion King at the top of their lungs. Jaime screamed and sat up straight, then started giggling. "Whenyama, whenyama," the two girls continued as Denise opened her eyes groggily.

"Pinatas, penguins, and pajamas," the girls started. Julia climbed into bed with Jaime and Lauren clambered on top of Denise. "Pinatas, penguins, and pajamas." Jaime's laughter was catching on and the girls could hardly vaulted out from their covers and circled the room, arms waving. "Pinatas, penguins, and pajamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaasssssss!" Jaime, Lauren, Julia, and Denise fell in a heap on the carpet, giggling so much that tears were spurting from their eyes.

"Best. Wake-up call. EVER," said Denise, trying to catch her breath.

"How did Meredith sleep through it all?" asked Jaime, gesturing to the curled up silhouette smothered in blankets. Without saying anything, the four girls padded over to Meredith's bed and positioned themselves. Lauren held up her fingers again. 3, 2, 1.

POUNCE! The four girls rocketed onto Meredith's sleeping figure, jerking her awake. "WHAAAAAAA?" Meredith let out a sound like a dying manatee. The other girls let out crows of "Good morning!" and "Wake up!" Meredith blinked about a hundred times, then reached over and put on her glasses. "Mornin!" she said ruefully.

"Ittttttsssss load-in day, Sleepin' Beauty!" said Lauren, ruffling Meredith's bed-head hair. The girls let out whoops of excitement.

Julia looked at the princess clock on Meredith's bedside table. "Shoot! It's already 6:30!" Everyone tumbled over each other on a race to get ready.

"I call the bathroom first!" cried Lauren, sprinting towards the door. She skidded to a halt and said, "Uh I mean, Meredith can have it first."

Meredith looked surprised. "Uhhh okay. Thanks, Lo." She shuffled off to the bathroom. Lauren quickly closed the door behind her.

"Everyone know the plan?" she said, turning back to the other three and raising her eyebrows. Jaime nodded like a bobble-head and Julia flashed a thumbs up.

"What plan? Oh thaaaat plan," said Denise. "The plan." The girls discussed the details for what seemed like the 17th time before Julia and Lauren left to get ready.

The girls arrived only 10 minutes late, wrapped in scarves and clutching cups of steaming coffee. "Its freezin' out there!" exclaimed Jaime as she stepped into the heated warehouse that connected to the theatre they would be using for Starship.

"Late as usual," clucked Brian kiddingly.

"You'd be late too if you woke up to Lauren and Jules screaming Lion King in your ear," teased Denise. Brian opened his mouth to ask if that really happened, but shut it quickly as Nick called everyone to attention.

"Ittttsss load-in day!" announced Nick, spurring a series of whoops, cheers, and claps. He continued to explain their system for today, which basically consisted of grabbing a box, taking it upstairs, figuring out what's in it, and putting it where it belongs. "And if you have any questions, ask around until you find someone at least 50% positive."

The Starkids set to work. They carried boxes consisting of an assortment of items including puppets, cardboard, and sparkles. After an hour or so of break-breaking labor, Julia waved Lauren, Jaime, and Denise over.

"Now?" asked Jaime, hand on the doorknob that led downstairs.

"Now," said Julia firmly. Denise and Julia remained upstairs, pretending to be busy stacking boxes, while Jaime and Lauren headed downstairs.

"Do do do do do do!" hummed Lauren, back to the wall, finger gun poised. The way she was treating this, you'd think they were on a mission to save the world.

"What the heck are you doing?" said a deep voice from the bottom of the staircase. Lauren whipped her head around to see Joe Walker, box in hand and an amused expression on his face.

"Oh, you know…uh pretending to be um secret agents," stuttered Lauren weakly, glaring at Jaime for some back-up.

"And you are interfering with our mission," scolded Jaime convincingly. Joe shook his head and continued up the stairs past the girls.

"Whew, that was a close one," breathed Lauren, fanning her still red cheeks. "If Joe knew what we were really up to, he'd tell Brian and then everything would be a disaster!"

Lauren hopped the last two steps and practically skipped into the room, Jaime trailing behind. Meredith was standing by the boxes, hands on hips, looking perplexed. Brian was in the corner withClark, running over some music. Perfect.

"What's wrong?" asked Jaime, striding over to Meredith.

"Oh nothing, just trying to pick the lightest box," replied Meredith with a grin. "Oof, not this one." Meredith staggered under the weight of the box before setting it down with a clunk.

"Get one of the boys to help you," said Lauren with a glint in her eye. "Hey Brian!"

Brian stopped singing right in the middle of "Kick It Up a Notch" reprise to turn to Lauren. "You called?"

"Be a gentleman and help Mere carry this box!" demanded Lauren. Brian shrugged and walked over to the girls. He braced his hands under the box.

"3, 2, 1," he grunted as he and Meredith lifted the box. "God, what's in here, a sumo-wrestler?" Meredith let out a loud laugh as they began slowly making their way up the stairs.

"Mission accomplished," whispered Lauren to Jaime, giving her a small flicked his eyes between the triumphant girls and the stairs that Meredith and Brian had just disappeared up, but decided not to ask.

Meanwhile upstairs, Julia and Denise were patiently waiting the appearance of Brian and Meredith in the doorway.

"I can't wait for Darren to be here tomorrow!" Julia was saying when they heard a loud thump and a bloodcurdling scream. Julia and Denise looked at each other with worried expressions. They heard Brian let out a string of curse words. The girls rushed to the stairwell just as Jaime, Lauren, andClark appeared at the bottom.

"What happened?" screeched Lauren. Meredith was collapsed on the stairs, her face scrunched in pain. Brian was standing over her, shocked and guilty-looking. And for some reason, there was paint everywhere!

"I didn't mean to!" apologized Brian immediately. "She made a joke and I laughed and then tripped up the stairs and accidently dropped the box on Meredith's foot and it ends up the box was full of paint…"

"I'm okay," said Meredith in a small voice. "It just scared me." She tried standing up.

"NO!" everyone yelled at once. She sat back down grumpily. Lauren, Denise, Jaime, and Julia were just shocked; their plan was not going as planned.

"Everybody okay?" said Nick, running up to the doorway with most of the rest of the team.

"No," said Brian at the exact same time that Meredith said, "Yes."

"Yes," repeated Meredith firmly. She started getting up again, but her left ankle gave way and she fell into Brian, who caught her quickly.

"No," corrected Brian gently. He quickly retold the whole story for the new arrivals.

"Will she be okay by opening night?" asked Matt from behind his brother.

"We can only hope," said Brian grimly. Everyone was quiet for a second, reflecting on the catastrophe.

"I never like this wall color," said Joey from the top of the stairs. "At least now we have an excuse to paint it!"

"First things first, let's get some ice on that foot," said Dylan. Brian took that as his cue and scooped up Meredith in his arms. She looked surprised, then flustered, then maybe a little pleased.

Brian carried Meredith all the way upstairs and settled her onto a couch while Corey went to fetch some ice. "Can I get you anything? A blanket? Something to drink?" Brian fussed over Meredith.

"I am a little chilly," Meredith admitted, "And hot chocolate would really hit the spot…" Brian was gone before she even finished.

The other girls couldn't help but feel guilty. "If only I hadn't insisted they take the heaviest box," Lauren said as she picked up a half-empty paint can.

"There's no way this is your fault, Lo," reassured Joe Walker, who was attempting to get the paint out of the carpeted stairs with a paper towel. Lauren shrugged, but she couldn't get rid of that guilty feeling.

"Sorry, Joey," said Nick. "I don't think we're gonna have time to paint the walls. We still have so much to do…" Obviously, the stress was getting to them. They just had to leave the walls paint-splattered with different colors, no matter how awful they looked.

After cleaning up the paint mess, the Starkids unloaded the rest of the boxes. For the rest of the day, they painted sets, tried on costumes, memorized lines, and rehearsed songs. All that is, except Meredith. Brian dubbed her Queen of Load-in Day and insisted on waiting on her majesty hand and foot. He wouldn't even let her run lines with Dylan. Meredith appreciated the attention, but she was getting a little fed up.

"Its my foot that's hurt, not my voice!" she cried when Brian toldClark that no, she couldn't run over her duet with Dylan. Brian shrunk back at Meredith's sudden outburst. Meredith felt bad for snapping at him, but honestly, her voice was fine!

Clark began the intro to "The Way I do" and Brian sulked off, looking for something else he could help with. He felt so awful for dropping that box on Meredith's foot. He cursed himself for being so clumsy.

"Uh, Brian, you okay?" asked Joe Moses.

"What? Oh yeah, fine," he replied lamely.

"Ya wanna practice with you mosquito puppet?" asked Brant, moving his Roach puppet's mouth.

"Sure!" agreed Brian. He wandered over to where Jaime and Jim were taking the mosquitoes out of the box.

Brian spent the remainder of the day getting used to the awkward, bulky puppet and trying to keep his mind off the scene he caused earlier.

Later the night, all of the girls gathered in the big bedroom. Meredith had her foot propped up, but she insisted it didn't hurt anymore. After watching half of Spiderman 2, she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. "I'm getting ready for bed," Meredith yawned as she headed to the bathroom with only a slight limp.

As soon as she was gone, Denise paused the movie. "Today was a disaster," she stated bluntly.

"I can't believe that happened! Our plan completely backfired!" said Lauren.

"Oh, I don't know," said Jaime optimistically. "They did end up spending more time with each other!"

"And the way Brian carried her up the stairs? Awww!" squealed Julia, clapping her hands together.

"We'll have to think of something much better next time," decided Denise.

"Yes. Something foolproof!" said Lauren. She leaned into the circle as the girls hatched another plan.


	5. Chapter 5

The girls were wrapped in so many layers all you could see were eyes poking out of scarves and hats. This much winter weather gear was required for a three block walk from the girls' house to the guys' when there was snow up to your knees in some spots.

Huddled on the porch with the rest of the girls, Lauren banged on the door and yelled, "Open up!" With the scarf covering her face it sounded more like "Mupem Mub" but someone must have understood because in a moment the door opened.

"Morning," Matt, still clad in flannel pajamas pants and a t-shirt, greeted them as they rushed inside out of the cold.

"Moor mhil mebem?" Jaime mumbled.

"Huh?" Matt asked.

Jaime removed the scarf from her face and repeated her self, "You're still sleeping?" She cried. The girls took off their layers, knowing this would take a while.

"I'm not still sleeping. I don't know about everyone else," Joe Moses said as he walked down the stairs.

"We have to be at the airport in an hour and none of you are up yet?" Jaime said, her voice rising.

"Our room is up." Joe replied. This statement was supported by a groggy Corey walking down the stairs.

"Not good enough," Jaime replied. "Come on." She motioned to the girls and they started up stairs. The girls' house was slightly smaller than the boys, with only two bedrooms instead of the five lined down the hall in front of them.

This scenario wasn't new to the girls. They knew what to do. They each walked into a different bedroom. Denise walked in with Lauren since Corey, Matt and Joe were already awake.

Meredith walked into the room Brian and Dylan shared. She saw their sleeping figures curled up in heaps on their beds. She walked over to Brian first. She looked down at his sleeping figure. His hair sticking up in tufts and his legs were poking out of the end of the covers. _He looks so adorable when he sleeps_, she thought.

Her train of thought was interrupted by movement form the other bed. Dylan sat up and saw Meredith.

"Hey Dylan. I was just about to wake you guys up," she said. Then realizing how close she was standing to Brian, took a step back.

Dylan looked from her to Brian suspiciously but said nothing. She shook Brain's shoulder.

"Brian! Get up!" she yelled at him.

"Uhmmm," he mumbled and rolled over to look at her. A smile crossed his face. "I'm up." He said and rolled back over.

"Come on! We have to be at the airport in an hour! We're in a hurry!"

"Fine, fine." He said sitting up and getting out of bed.

"Get ready. I'll meet you downstairs," she said to the boys as she left the room.

The other girls were all downstairs already. They sat down at the kitchen table. Slowly the boys trickled downstairs, dressed and ready to go. Once they had all eaten, they again got ready to venture out into the snow. This time the boys followed suit.

Once outside they all got into various cars. Dylan got in his car with Jim, Clark, Denise, and Nick. Joe Walker's was loaded up with Lauren, Jaime, Brant and drove with Matt, Julia, and Joe Moses.

"Guess it's just you and me," Brian said to Meredith and walked to his car. She followed behind him. He walked around the car and opened her door.

"Thank you," she said as she slid in the car.

"My pleasure," he replied and shut her door. As he walked around the front of the car Meredith could feel her heart racing. _Get a hold of yourself! It's just Brian._ She tried unsuccessfully to convince her heart to go back to its normal rhythm.

Brian started the car and pulled out onto the street being Joe. Meredith turned on the radio to fill the silence. She started to sing along quietly and eventually Brian joined in. They both reached over to turn the volume up at the same time and their hands met. Neither one moved for a few moments. Then Meredith pulled away and Brian turned up the volume. Soon they were full on scream-singing to the music that shook the whole car.

When they arrived at the airport they all parked in various spots around the lot. Brian and Meredith had slipped into fits of laughter a few blocks back and were still laughing when they met up with the rest of the group.

Smiles and mischievous looks were exchanged between the the other members of Starkid as the two approached.

"Ok let's head out!" Lauren yelled. They walked as a mass of bodies all talking at once, to the entrance gates of the airport. Then they stood waiting.

It didn't take long until the plane landed and crowds of people started getting off. Once everyone had left the plane they still stood there.

"Okkkayyyy… So where is-"Joey started but was cut off by Julia's high pitched squeal.

She sprinted away from the group and ran full force at the lone figure getting off the plane. She launched herself into the air and wrapped her arms around the person, whose arms wrapped themselves around her in return.

As they hugged, the others ran to Julia. Once they were close they could see Darren's beaming face above Julia's shoulder. No one slowed down as the reached the two hugging; they all just wrapped their arms around them in a massive group hug.

Many greetings were exchanged as well as many more hugs. Soon enough they were all satisfied with their initial meeting and headed to baggage claim to get Darren's luggage. His was the only one left due to their long greeting.

At the door Darren dug his coat and hat out of his carry on and slipped them on.

"That probably won't help much, bud," Joe Walker said as he patted him on the back and headed outside. Once they were all out the door Darren could see, and feel, what he meant. The snow had gotten worse and the wind was brutal.

They all shuffled to the cars as fast as they could. Darren rode with Brian in the backseat since all the other cars were full.

"Sorry we can't go back to HQ first," Brian told Darren, meaning the Starkid manor, "We're pressed for time and Julia doesn't want us to waste a second of valuable rehearsal time, she only allowed this little trip because it was to come get you. You know how she gets near showtime."

"Oh, I know," Darren said with a smile. On the ride to rehearsal they caught up on Darren's adventures in California.

Upon entering the warehouse they were all rushed upstairs to get into costume for dress rehearsal. There wasn't much time to talk but everyone managed to get their fair amount of Darren time in between scenes.

They ran through the show twice and painted some sets before it got late and everyone started getting anxious to get home.

"So do we all want to go back to our house or go our separate ways and meet up again tomorrow?" Joey asked the group as they again got ready to venture out into Snowpocalypse.

"I for one am pooped," Lauren piped up. "I got up too early thanks to this one," She said jokingly, poking Darren in the ribs. This was met with various grunts of agreement from a majority of the group.

"Sorry! Next time I just won't come back if you guys are so opposed!" Darren said throwing his arms up in defense.

"You know we love you," Nick said as they ventured out into the cold. They all got into the various cars. The girls were dropped off in front of their house. They waved good bye and the boys watched to make sure they got inside before speeding off again.

The boys all arrived home at roughly the same time. Stripping off their coats as they went, they wandered into the kitchen for some late-night dinner. Each one grabbed some leftovers or microwaveable meal and they jockeyed for the microwave.

Soon everyone was seated in the living room as they chowed down. Joe Moses grabbed Legally Blond from the stack of the guys' favorite movies and popped it into the player. Halfway through, Brian's phone buzzed. He saw it was his mom and walked out of the room to talk.

"Nice one today with the cars," Dylan said between bites of food. Most of the group seemed to know what he meant and let out hoots of victory. Clark and Darren on the other hand, sat with confused expressions across their faces.

"Ok, I've been out of the loop too long. What are you guys up to?" Clark asked.

"See this is why you shouldn't work late. You miss all the juicy stuff!" Dylan chided.

"I'm sorry I want to fix the music so you guys don't sound like crap out there!" The group was quieted by this. They knew he was right. "Thought so. But anyway, what were you guys talking about?"

"Ok so you know how Meredith and Brian have a thing for each other?" Dylan started.

"You guys noticed too! I thought it was just me," Darren said.

"We all knew. But it's gotten worse recently," Dylan continued. Darren's eyes widened. It was noticeable before he left. If it was worse…

"So we knew he wouldn't have the balls to ask her out himself so we… gave him a push." Dylan said with a mischievous smile.

"We had this plan to get them together but then Clark over here ruined it!" Joe Walker said accusingly.

"How did I ruin it?" Clark said.

"You know when you left your music in the shop and Brian got it for you?"

"Ya. You told him to get it for me."

"Well I didn't know you had actually left it there! It was a lie to try and get Mere and Brian alone together! I knew you left your stuff all over the place but it thought at least the costume shop was safe."

"Ohhhh, so that's what I walked in on."

"It was," Joe stated and turned to Darren. "And today we took all the seats in the cars. We thought the girls might mess it up and ride with Meredith but thank god they all decided to get in different cars. So Brian and Meredith had to go alone in Brian's car."

"Nice!" Darren shouted. "I want in on this plan! Breredith needs to happen!"

"Breredith?" Joey asked.

"It's their couple name I came up with a while back. You know, Brian plus Meredith equals Breredith." He explained

"I like it," Jim commented.

"Ok so what's the next step in your plan?" Darren asked

"Well we were thinking-"Matt stopped short as Brian entered the room. "We were thinking maybe we could all meet up for a real breakfast before rehearsal tomorrow, "he recovered quickly.

"Oh ya that'd be fun!" Brian said sitting down.

Nick leaned over and whispered to Darren, "Later tonight when we're all in our rooms Joe and I will explain phase three of operation Breredith"


	6. Chapter 6

"Careful, careful," breathed Joe Moses, watching apprehensively as Brian slowly lowered the feather boa to tickle the sleeping Darren's nose.

Since it was Darren's first night back in town, of course the other boys had to prank him. Darren was one of those guys who could sleep through action movies on full volume, but they still had to be careful. So far, Nick and Corey had "unpacked" Darren's duffel and duct-taped his clothing to the ceiling, Clark and Dylan dug through the Christmas decorations and found these creepy Santa Matryoshka dolls (you know, the ones that go inside each other?), so they had set them up facing Darren's sleeping bag, Joey and Brant painted his fingernails bright pink, Jim and Matt gave him a makeover, and Brian and Moses were in the process of trying to get Darren to sneeze by dangling a feather boa above his nose.

Got it," whispered Joe Walker, entering the room, presenting his iPod. Everyone gathered around as Joe gently stuck the earphones in Darren's ears. They all froze as Darren let out a mumble, but he still seemed very much asleep. The boys cleared out and clustered in the doorway.

"Here we go," said Joe to himself, turning up the volume all the way on his iPod. With a little grin, Joe pressed play and dashed out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

They strained their ears for a moment before Darren's screams ripped through the air. They dissolved into silent giggles as Darren screamed again.

Nick tried to imagine what was going on in the bedroom. Darren waking up to the blasting wails of "Of Mice and Men": cue scream 1. Noticing the eerie Matryoshka dolls staring into his soul: scream 2, this one slightly higher pitched. Sneezing and sneezing and sneezing. Nick leaned against the wall to support himself, but the force of trying to keep his laughter in was too much and he collapsed on the floor.

Suddenly, the bedroom door swung open to reveal a furious Darren, feather boa and Santa doll in hand, lipstick smeared all over his face. Corey quickly snapped a picture as the rest of the guys tried (with varying amounts of success) to wipe the grins off their faces.

"What the hell guys?" yelled Darren, holding up the boa and the doll. Just then, a pair of pants duct-taped to the ceiling decided to unstick themselves and landed plop, right on top of Darren's bedhead afro. Corey took another picture.

It was silent for a moment, but the Starkid boys couldn't stand it any longer, They burst into hoots of laughter, streams of giggles, tears pooling in their eyes. Soon half the group joined Nick on the floor, pounding the carpet as they struggled to breathe between laughs.

Darren tried his best to stay angry, but he soon smiled in spite of himself. "Never do this again!" he warned, ducking under a low-hanging t-shirt to get to the bathroom.

The boys kept laughing until Joe got a text from Lauren.

**Where are you guyzzzz?**

"Shoot," muttered Joe, realizing they were 15 minutes late for rehearsal and still in their pajamas. He hurriedly typed **coming** before panic ensued as the boys scrambled to get ready.

At the theatre, the girls were busy applying make-up and putting on costumes. Lauren dug through some of her old stuff and unearthed her Backstreet Boys CD, so the catchy sounds of "Bye Bye Bye" blasted through their dressing room.

"What the heck?" exclaimed Denise, staring in confusion at her phone. The other girls gathered around curiously. Corey had just tweeted a picture with the caption "It's been an interesting morning…"

"Is that…Darren?" asked Julia, only one of her eyes mascaraed.

"So this is what the boys do with their time," remarked Jaime, turning back to the mirror to brush powder on her cheeks.

"They better get their butts down here soon," said Lauren. Just then, the chorus of "Bye Bye Bye" came on, so of course they all jumped up to rock out. Meredith sang into her hairbrush while Lauren jumped up on the table to wiggle her butt. They belted the final bye, bye, bye just as Brian Holden burst through the door.

"We're here!" he announced proudly.

"Brian! This is the girls' room!" shouted Meredith in a fake British accent, clutching her half-buttoned down blouse together. Brian at least had the decency to blush before covering his eyes with his hand.

"Sorry we're late!" called Darren, entering the room.

"DARREN!" He closed his eyes with a grin.

"Don't be mad at me, It's the other guys' faults! You wanna know what they did to me this morning?" Darren said.

"Maybe when we're fully clothed!" replied Jaime, fumbling to pull pants on.

Julia (who was fully clothed, thank goodness) pushed the boys out the door and shut if firmly. Brian and Darren's laughs faded away as they headed to their dressing room.

"Well that was embarrassing," said Denis bluntly, summing up the whole encounter.

An hour later, they all gathered in the auditorium, fully costumed and mic-checked.

"An hour and a half later than planned," Julia was saying, pacing like a drill sergeant. "Care to explain yourselves?" Julia gave the boys her evil eye, which they had dubbed the look of eternal doom. Julia could stare down a meteor when she was mad.

"Webkidaprnktdawwendisornig," mumbled Brant as the boys hug their heads in shame. All except Darren, who was looking pretty smug but still a little afraid of Julia's wrath.

"Excuse me?" snapped Julia.

"We pranked Darren this morning," spoke upClarkbravely. "We duct-taped his clothes to the ceiling and found these freaky Santa dolls…" he trailed off as Julia's face turned redder and redder. Behind her, the other girls were straining to contain their laughs.

"That's what this is all about?" shouted Julia, waving her arms. "A stupid prank?" Suddenly, her face softened and she closed her eyes briefly.

"Guys, you know I love you." Was it Lauren's imagination, or did her eyes flick toward Darren as she said this? Lauren made a mental note to approach the subject later. "…but we have got to get our stuff together! The show opens tomorrow. TOMORROW. This is our last chance to perfect it! Starship is the biggest show we've ever done. Whatever it may seem like, this is our job. We just happen to be the luckiest people in the world because we get to work with our best friends every single day. Most of the time, goofing off is okay, but can we just focus for like 3 hours? Please?" The guys nodded hesitantly as Julia smiled a little "You need to get your heads in the game."

Soon everyone was smiling. "But my heart's in the song!" mumbled Nick to his brother.

"WHAT TEAM?" Julia shouted.

"STARKID!"

"WHAT TEAM?"

"STARKID!" everyone stood up and got in a huddle.

"STARKID. GETCHA HEAD IN THE GAME."

Julia was near the middle of the group, beaming like a fool. "I love you all," she said almost to herself.

"Starship on three!" said Matt, sticking his hand out. The Starkids stacked their palms on top of his. "One, two, THREE!"

"STARSHIP!" this led to a series of whoops, high-fives, and back slaps as everyone made their way to the stage.

Darren stopped Julia and gave her a hug. "Thanks," he said simply.

"For what?" she asked, crinkling her eyebrows.

"For keeping us goofballs in line." Julia just smiled and hurried backstage as Darren settled into an auditorium seat with a notebook to critique the show.

The show kicked off with the video of all their friends who couldn't actually be in the show. Meredith and Denise watched from the wings, knowing they didn't have to go on stage for awhile.

"Good luck," whispered a voice in Meredith's ear. She yelped and spun around. Brian.

Denise looked around and mumbled something like, "What? What was that? I should go check," and scurried away with a little grin.

"Are you asking for trouble?" asked Meredith in a low voice.

"Wha- oh I mean, break a leg!" Brian corrected quickly, poking Meredith in the stomach.

Unfortunately, they were standing right by the band, so Clark and the others sat awkwardly playing their glancing at the pair with a little smirk. Across the stage, in the other wings, Lauren and Jaime were pumping their fists and jumping up and down, trying not to look at Brian and Meredith.

"You too. Actually, break every bone in your body!' exclaimed Meredith teasingly, poking Brian back.

"Wow, I'm gonna be the luckiest actor ever!"

"Hey Brian?" said Meredith.

"Yeah?" said Brian, looking like an excited puppy.

"You need to be on stage," she said with a slight smile.

"What?" Brian said, his excitement fading a bit.

"Get your butt on stage!" Meredith said, practically shoving him out of the wing. He only stumbled once before straightening out his cardboard bug and opening his mouth to sing. He glanced over at Meredith offstage once and couldn't help grinning. She was singing and dancing along, completely in her own world.

The rehearsal went as well as they could've hoped. What's a dress rehearsal for except making mistakes? Brian came on stage late (several times), Lauren forgot her plastic knife, but covered by using her fist instead, Nick's arms got tired during "Kick It Up A Notch", so Pincer had one lazy claw, Meredith broke character once, Joey missed Joe's lap and sat down hard on the floor, Joe Walker accidently swung Lauren too hard when she was trying to get on his back, and ended up clinging to him like a baby koala, Clark missed a couple chords here and there, Corey accidently turned Jaime's microphone on while she was in the bathroom, so everyone heard her washing her hands, Julia forgot part of the choreography and bumped Meredith, Joe Moses accidently called Tootsy Noodles Dylan, Brant came on at the wrong time, so he just sort of buzzed around in the background, Denise could not keep a straight face when she was caught in the web, and Jim forgot one of his only lines, but other than that, it was pretty flawless. All of the Starkids were used to going with the flow, so most of the mistakes were covered well or turned into a joke. They came out for bows and Matt and Darren applauded and wolf-whistled.

"Great job, guys. You all rock!" Matt praised. After going through cast notes, they decided not to do the show one more time because they didn't want to jinx themselves (that was the excuse they came up with anyway). They all changed out of their costumes and headed downstairs to the practice area.

What started out as Joe Moses showing them some stage fighting techniques soon turned into blindfolded sword duels while Matt taped the whole thing.

"Who's next?" asked Joey, pulling off his blindfold after defeating Jaime.

"How about Brian and Meredith?" suggested Dylan coyly.

"Its on," Meredith challenged tying the Julia's scarf around her eyes.

"Better watch out," bantered Brian, gripping the sword. Joey and Jaime spun each of them around three times before setting them loose to fight. Across the circle, everyone was exchanging smug looks.

Meredith had a strategy. She got down on her hands and knees and listened carefully for Brian's footsteps. Meanwhile, Brian was trying to walk as quietly as possible. He had taken off his shoes when they started playing, so he tiptoed around in thick fuzzy socks. Where was she?

Out of nowhere, a foam sword started hacking at his ankle. He yelped, tried to step backward to escape, and fell over another body, landing entagled with the other person. His sword accidently stabbed into that person's laughing face.

"Well, I think you both loose," remarked Darren, surveying the scene. Meredith and Brian ripped off their blindfolds and found themselves face-to-face. They both burst out laughing and fell over sideways. Meredith rubbed her nose where Brian's sword had stabbed her and exploded in sneezes.

"Ewww!" squealed Brian, scrambling to get away from Meredith's icky germs. He practically threw a Kleenex at her.

"Next?" sniffed Meredith, standing up and looking at her friends. The game continued with many laughs and antics for a good hour or so. Julia beat Darren, surprisingly, Joe cheated by picking Lauren up and throwing her over his shoulder, Nick took a risk and threw his sword at Jim, which actually hit him square in the chest, Denise got crushed by Clark, and Joe and Dylan's match lasted for a good 15 minutes before Brant interfered and stole both of their swords.

As Dylan and Joe chased Brant around blindly, Lauren looked out the window. "Look at the snow!" she exclaimed, pointing. They all rushed to press their noses against the cold, frosty glass. "Let's build a snowman!" Everyone agreed and rushed to layer on all their winter gear.

"I don't think that's going to be enough," said Julia, surveying Darren's light jacket and fingerless gloves.

"Sorry! Its never this cold inCali!" he apologized. They all sacrificed a piece of clothing to help Darren out, so he ended up with miss matched gloves, a purple and gold patterned scarf, and a flowered toboggan.

"Snowpocalypse 2011!" announced Joe from behind his panning camera. Jaime smiled from under her eskimo hood and they all pulled scarves over their mouths and zipped up their coats, except Jim, who was braving the cold in just a flannel shirt.

"Leths moooooooee!" cried Lauren, pointing to the door like Peter Pan. They all assumed she was saying let's go, so go they did!

"Holy crap!" yelled Joe Walker. They had walked into a white wonderland. Snow covered everything! Since it was still falling, the snow didn't have a chance to turn gray and slushy, so even the road was dusted with white flakes. The world was completely devoid of color. Lauren held up her pink-gloved hand against the blank background and smiled.

Jaime huffed out so she could see her breath, then grinned. Meredith plopped on the sidewalk and waved her arms and legs, creating a snow angel. Nick threw his head back and stuck out his tongue to catch the flakes.

"How do you make a snowman?" asked Darren. Joey and Dylan looked just as confused. All three of them had grown up on the West Coast and never played in the snow as kids.

Lauren took charge and organized everyone into groups, giving them specific jobs. Matt, Joe Moses, Jaime, and Joey were in charge of the bottom, Dylan, Denise, Jim, and Clark the middle, and Darren, Joe Walker, Brant, and Corey got the head. Julia and Nick were supposed to look for things to use for the eyes, mouth, and buttons, and Brian and Meredith needed to find a nose and arms. Lauren would "supervise". They set to work.

"How about this?" asked Meredith, holding up a piece of broken towel rack for Brian to see. The pair had wandered away from the rest of the group and found a dumpster, which turned out to be full of things that resembled arms and noses.

"Perfect!" Brian proclaimed. "And it'll look great with this um…what is this?" Brian held up what appeared to be a wooden rod with chew marks all over it. He bathed it in snow to rid it of germs. Meredith cracked up and shrugged.

"This is going to be one bad-ass snowman," she said. "What could we use for a nose?" Meredith tapped her own nose, thinking.

"We can use…yours!" Brian declared, lunging for Meredith and pretending to grab her nose. "I've got your nose! I've got your nose!" he teased, wiggling his hand.

"Hey!" Meredith cried, surprised. She let out a shout of laughter and chased Brian down the sidewalk, slipping and sliding on the snow. She finally caught up to him when he reached a particularly icy patch and fell flat on his back. She reached down and grabbed her "nose" back, shoving it firmly back onto her face. Brian just looked up at Meredith innocently. She sighed and reached down to help him up.

"First one to find a better nose gets to put it on the snowman!" challenged Brian, squeezing Meredith's mittened hand. She dashed back to the dumpster and frantically pawed through it, searching for anything even remotely resembling a nose.

Fifteen minutes later, she reconvened with Brian, confident that she would win. "What'd you find?" Meredith asked.

"You first!"

"Nose goes!" Meredith had her finger on her nose before Brian even registered what she said. He sighed and produced half a broken wooden bat. Meredith gave him a quizzical look.

"We can call it Pisnowcchio!" Brian said proudly. His pride dampened a bit as he noticed Meredith biting her lip, trying not to smile. "What?"

"Its um creative," replied Meredith delicately. "But it think it's too heavy. The snow wouldn't support it."

"Alright, well what've you got?" countered Brian. Meredith reached carefully into her pocket and withdrew a lightbulb.

"It's like Rudolph, only a snowman!" Meredith said excitedly. Brian raised his eyebrows.

"Let's see what else we can find," he said finally. They once again returned to the dumpster. After a few minutes, they found their nose. Meredith and Brian both reached for it at the same time.

"Perfect!" they said together. Someone had thrown away a perfectly good disguise. It was nerd glasses with a nose and moustache attached. Triumphantly, they walked back to the group, brandishing their prize.

Lauren and Jaime exchanged a smile as Brian and Meredith joined the group. "Look what we found!" crowded Brian. Meredith held up the glasses, her mouth spreading into a grin. Everyone agreed that this would be the best snowman ever.

"We're done with the butt!" announced Joey, patting the enormous snowball beside him.

"Wow. That's a big butt," said Jim. They all cracked up asClarkand his team rolled up with the middle. Dylan and Jim braced their arms and carefully lowered the heavy "stomach" onto the butt.

"Toot too, here comes the head!" proclaimed Darren, holding the snowball like a baby. He plopped in ungracefully onto the middle.

Julia and Nick jumped in with their contribution. They used bottle caps as eyes, a beaded necklace for a mouth, and mismatched buttons. Brian and Meredith added their arms and disguise glasses. As a final decoration, Matt took off his hat and set it gently on the snowman's head.

"

Well its certainly creative!" said Lauren, trying to stay positive. The snowman had a huge butt, a tiny waist, and a big head. One of its arms was significantly shorter than the other and its smile was drooping.

"I love it!" exclaimed Darren.

"My first snowman!" said Dylan, wiping a fake tear from his eye. Joey put his arms around the snowman. They took a couple pictures with it, doing goofy things like "proposing" or pretending to lick it.

Some of the boys started a casual snowball fight while the girls made snow angels. Meredith was just standing up to admire her fresh angel when poof! A powdery snowball hit her right in the face.

"Sorry!" Brian squealed, throwing his hands in the air. "I was aiming for Brant!" Brant himself was dying laughing behind her. Meredith set her mouth and advanced on Brian, scooping up snow as she went. Brian scrambled backwards, scared of Meredith's wrath. "I didn't mean to, I swear!" He turned around and ran.

Meredith caught up easily and grabbed him by his collar, grinning. She pulled backed his hood and dropped the snowball down his back. Brian arched his back as the cold snow trickled down his spine. Meredith patted him on the back. "We're even."

Brian whirled around and tackled her to the sidewalk. She struggled under him and screamed as he pushed her into a slushy snow bank. "Now we're even," he said.

"Girls against boys!" shouted Joe Walker, picking up Lauren and dropping her into the snow bank next to Meredith. The girls were furious.

"Its on," said Lauren through gritted teeth. She hurriedly started making snowballs while the other girls began working on a fort. The guys huddled together to talk strategy. Seizing the moment, Jaime (who had the best aim) started chucking snowballs into the boys huddle. Thry tried to ignore her, but she had deadly accuracy and hit several of them right in that patch of exposed neck between their hats and their coats.

With how they were all treating this, one would think a war was going on! They fought long and hard, but the girls could not compete with boys' sheer numbers. One by one, they collapsed in the melting slush, shivering from the cold and defeat.

After slapping some high-fives, the boys, being the gentlemen they were, helped the girls up. It was getting dark, and everyone was exhausted from their fun in the snow, so everyone parted ways to head home and crash before opening night.

The girls practically dragged themselves home. Julia made everyone her special peanut butter hot chocolate and they all snuggled on the couch. They were all a little nervous for opening night tomorrow, and they need each other's comfort.

"Today was so fun," said Denise sleepily.

"I think Brian and Meredith had fun, too," said Lauren, her eyes drifting closed.

"What do you mean?" asked Meredith loudly, but Lauren was already asleep, or at least pretending to be.

"Night lovelies," murmured Julia, cuddling her head into Jaime's shoulder.

Meredith tugged the comforter over her chin and fell asleep thinking, _"I am the luckiest girl in the world."_


	7. Chapter 7

**Are u awake?**

**Helllooooo**

**Get up!**

I hopeurup cuz were coming over

"I hope they didn't all get kidnapped or something." Joe Walker said, looking at his phone again to see if Lauren had replied to any of his texts.

"Well they did walk home alone last night. It's quite possible a man in a dark van jumped out and attacked all five of them in the street," Brian replied completely nonchalantly.

"Only if he was such a fine specimen as me. I mean, look at these guns," Joe said holding up his arm. It was covered in so many layers he could have had noodle arms and no one would have been able to tell the difference.

"Impressive," Brian said not impressed in the slightest.

Brian and Joe were at the back of the pack so by the time they reached the girls' front door Brant had already knocked on it a couple times with no answer. He tried a few more times with the same result.

"Come on! It's freezing out here!" Jim exclaimed.

"Hang on. I've got this," Brian said reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet. He moved through the crowd until he was at the door. Rummaging through his wallet he produced a key.

"Where did you get a key to their house?" Joe Moses asked.

"Meredith gave it to me," this elicited many quizzical looks. "You know, for emergencies," he said with a shrug as he unlocked the door.

He stepped inside and paused. The house was completely dark. He felt for the light switch he knew was right beside the door. Locating it he switched it on. It was then he noticed the girls weren't in their rooms but all cuddled asleep together on the couch.

He felt a pang of jealousy when he saw Lauren. She was snuggled into the corner of the couch with her arm around Meredith; the other girl was curled into her side, both of them fast asleep. The others crowded in the door until they were a giant huddle standing in the entryway.

"Awwww! Isn't that adorable." Brian heard form the behind him. He thought it was Nick but couldn't quiet tell.

"Should we wake them up?" Corey asked.

"No, let's just make it a surprise breakfast," Joey suggested. "It might be hard with them sleeping ten feet away but lets do it anyway!" he said, a huge grin slipping across his face.

Lauren awoke to the smell of smoke. Her eyes shot open. Fire! Fire! She thought. Now think, what they tell you to do in case of a fire…Hell, I don't remember! She jumped up off the couch in panic, nearly throwing Meredith to the ground with her. Miraculously she remained on the couch, still asleep.

Lauren spun around to the source of the smell. The kitchen. To her surprise she was met not with a blazing fire but with a dozen sets of eyes all staring at her.

It was Dylan who broke the silence. "Good morning sunshine," he sing-songed.

"Whatareyouguysdoinginmyhouse ?!" Lauren yelled.

"Making breakfast,"Clarkexplained. "Surprise!" he added on as an afterthought.

"I thought you set the house on fire," Lauren said, calming down a bit as she got a hold of the situation.

"Nope, just the toast," Brian said. "Joey over here isn't the extreme chef he makes himself out to be."

"I've been found out," Joey said looking like an agent whose cover had just been blown.

"I'll get the girls up while you guys finish," Lauren said turning back to the living room and her sleeping friends.

A half hour later everyone was crowed in the living room. Some sat on couches and various chairs from around the house while everyone else took a seat on the floor. They ate in silence, too distracted by the great food to talk much. As it turns out Brian had a secret skill, cooking like nobody's business.

Once they had finished, the girls, with bed head and in their pajamas, raced up stairs to get ready while the boys cleaned up the mess in the kitchen.

Once they were all ready they headed to the building that housed their home for the rest of the day: the stage. It was a Starkid tradition to have last chance rehearsal on the day of opening. They were always behind and needed one last day to work on the show. So today was that day. It was always hectic and jammed with rehearsal until the last minute. Stress was inevitable.

"Go, go go!" Corey yelled to everyone as soon as they entered the building. They rushed up the stairs to get into costume. Once they were dressed for their various first scenes, most of them in black pants and hoodies, they gathered center stage.

"Ok, you guys know how it goes. Today is last chance rehearsal and then opening night. We have a lot of work to get done, do your best, don't get distracted, and etcetera, etcetera. Julia is really better at this type of thing," Corey droned on. "Basically act like this is your job and not us just having fun. Because we can fire you," He said with a warning stare.

A few hours into their rehearsal, Matt yelled from the audience, "Where the heck is Meredith?" After missing her cue the others had tried to cover for her for a few minutes but soon the ad-libbing got out of hand when Joe, as Up, had threatened to take his spaceship and shove it in a less than desirable place if Krayonder didn't get his shit together.

They all simultaneously broke character. "No one knows," Joe Moses said from on stage.

"Well find her," Matt commanded. Lauren, both Joes, and Julia all plopped down on stage. "Uggghhhh." Matt groaned.

"Fine I'll get her," Brian said and walked off into the wings.

After wandering around for a while he walked to the girls' dressing room. Knocking on the door he yelled, "Anybody in there?" No reply. He decided to go in and check. Of course it was a disaster but after rummaging around he found a leg sticking out from under one of the makeup tables.

Crouching down he saw Meredith curled up in a ball sleeping under the table.

"Mere." He said shaking her shoulder. "Mere. MEREDITH!" He screamed in her ear. Still no movement. Knowing she could sleep through the apocalypse, he decided to take matters into his own hands and pull her out from under the table. Once she was out he stood looking down at her wondering what to do. He settled on picking her up and carrying her onto stage.

He slipped his arm under her knees and the back of her neck and stood up. Holding her bridal style he looked down. With half of her white wig covering her face and copious amounts of stage makeup on he was still overcome by how pretty she was.

Carrying her through the crowed backstage area proved to be a challenge but soon he arrived back on stage, Meredith still sleeping in his arms.

"Found her!" he yelled from the wings.

"Look at that," Joe Walker said lightly elbowing Joe Moses in the ribs. He retuned a slight, almost unnoticeable grin, as to avoid suspicion from the other cast members.

Brian set Meredith down gently next to Lauren.

"So how do we wake her up?" Brian asked.

"Only one way," Lauren said dramatically. She rose from the ground and loomed over Meredith. Her hands bent into claws as she slowly bent down over the sleeping girl. Claws poised at the soft spot on Meredith's sides Lauren starting tickling her.

"Ahh, hahaha!" Meredith laughed scrambling up from the ground. Looking around at all the laughing faces she asked, "How did I get here?"

"Brian," Lauren explained.

"Guilty as charged," He said with a grin.

"Now that everyone is here, we can continue with the play," They heard Darren yell from the audience.

"Noooooo," Meredith groaned. "We've already gone through it three times today. I need a nap."

"Yes, but you've consistently messed up all three times." Matt argued from his seat next to Darren in the audience.

"But we've covered it," Joey countered.

"We only have this last act and then its nap time for all of us before the show. Just get through it," Matt yelled finally.

They got the scene set back up and going again. They finished the play without any major mess ups and soon it was nap time. This was when all the Starkids traveled down to the now almost empty warehouse and took an hour long power nap before opening night. Most of them didn't bother to take off their costumes before collapsing onto the floor in sleep.

Meredith and Brian both changed though, and met each other at the top of the stairs going down.

"So I never really got an explanation earlier. How did I end up on stage?" Meredith asked him as they descended the staircase.

"Well obviously you missed your cue. From there it spiraled into a scene about Up hating Krayonder and how Krayonder was only there cuz his mom did some… favors… for Up many years back. Matt didn't seem to agree that it fit into the show and stopped that before it could get worse."

"I see. But how did that end up with me being on stage?" she asked as they navigated their way through the sleeping bodies downstairs to a clear space off to the side.

"Well everyone else was too lazy to find you so I did. When I finally did find you, which took a considerable amount of time, mind you," he explained as he sat down against the far wall. Meredith sat right next to him so she wouldn't sit on Dylan who was asleep to her left.

"I get lots of practice when I nanny. Those kids sure do like hide and go seek."

"It paid off. Anyway, you were asleep and I didn't know how to wake you so I carried you on stage to Lauren who I assumed would."

"That makes much more sense." They settled into a comfortable silence. Neither one having much energy left to talk. Soon Meredith's eyelids drooped and she lay down with her head in Brian's lap. He played with her soft curls until she fell asleep. Soon he himself drifted off as he stared down at his sleeping friend.

"Thirty minutes!" The sound of Jaime's voice echoed through the large room waking Brian and most of the other Starkids up. Meredith remained sleeping on his lap. From earlier that day he knew only one thing would wake her. He tickled her sides until he squirmed with laughter and woke up.

"Hey Sleeping Beauty. Thirty minutes." He said standing up and offering her a hand up.

They all rushed upstairs to get ready for curtain call. Five minutes to go and they had their group huddle. One minute to go and they took their places in the wings or went farther backstage to wait.

The show ran smoothly. In true Starkid style they had many mess ups but covered them with something funnier than the original script. Many laughs and maybe ever a few tears later they were all back stage again changing into their normal clothes to go meet with fans.

An hour or so later they again all met up at the door leaving the theater. They headed out into the cold and to the boys' house for celebratory cookies. Store bought, since before this morning it was thought that no one in the house could cook.

Once they had all had their fill of cookies they settled into the various couches and popped in a movie. About halfway through, they decided to just all stay at the guys' house tonight. They were too tired to move let alone walk three blocks. When this decision had been made they scattered about the house collecting all pillows, blankets and other cuddly items and brining them to the living room. Soon they were all cuddled together on the couches or the floor under blankets.

Meredith cuddled with Brian. This wasn't unusually. Most all of them had a cuddle buddy in the house. Brian had Meredith, Joe had Lauren, Julia now had Darren, Jaime had Joey, and Denise had Dylan. These pairs were scattered around the room, mixed in with the lone figures of the other Starkids.

The movie ended and the people who hadn't fallen asleep already started to drift off. Brian and Meredith settled into a comfortable position on the floor. Her head resting on his shoulder, his arm wrapped around her under the small of her back and their legs intertwined. His wish from this morning had been granted, he though as he drifted off to sleep.

Brian woke up shivering in the middle of the night. He was cold without Meredith's body heat next to him so he reached out his arm for her. When he couldn't find her he shot up in panic. Stumbling around he found his phone. Touching the screen, it lit up. He held it up so he could look around the room. The sleeping bodies of his friends lay scattered around the room. He could tell who most of them were at a glance but some were so covered in blankets it was hard to tell. After inspecting each sleeping blob he concluded none of them were Meredith.

Still in a panic he tried to figure out what to do. He walked around the house looking for any sign of her to no avail. He decided to try and call her to see if she left for some reason. He checked his phone. No missed calls or texts. And no signal. He walked upstairs where he normally gets service. Still none. He walked to the door at the end of the hall no one ever used. Turning the knob he crept out. In front of him were some flights of stairs. Starting the journey upward he continued to check for signal. When he open the door at the top and walked out onto the roof he checked again. Still none.

Looking up from the screen he finally noticed her. Standing alone near the railing at the edge of the building wrapped in a blanket. He walked up next to her.

"How'd you know about this place?" he asked her

"I didn't. I just couldn't sleep so I walked around up stairs and I was wondering where the door went so I opened it and ended up here." She explained

"I think I'm the only one that knows about it. This is my special spot," he told her.

Noticing she was looking up at the sky he also turned his gaze away from her to the sparkling lights.

"You can see them pretty well tonight," she said, meaning the stars.

"You usually can from up here," he said. After some silence he finally continued. "You know, during the summer in-between second and third grade my dad tried to teach me all the constellations." She turned to look at him but his gaze stayed up in the sky, lost in thought. "We went to the library and picked out the biggest book they had on the constellations. He had to carry it home because it was too heavy for me. I remember getting home and being so anxious to open up that book I grabbed it from his hand without thinking and ended up dropping it on his foot. He got pretty mad about that," he continued, a slight grin slipping across his face with the memory. "So eventually we sat down at the kitchen table and he just started reading to me. He read for hours it seemed like. Every time it had a picture of a constellation he would heft that huge book up off the table and show it to me. That night he took me up onto the roof of the house. My mom had a cow when she found out about that once," he chuckled. "He took this old quit we'd had forever out there and spread it out. Then we just sat laid there. Staring up at the sky. He would point up and tell me the story that went along with the constellation we'd read about earlier that day. It was like magic. Up past my bed time, secretly on the roof, looking up at these little dots in the sky and painting pictures out of them, making stories out of them. We made it a nightly thing. Eventually my mom found out but she never let on so the magic never faded. Soon we made it through that whole book and went back for a new one. We read through the library's whole section on constellations that summer. We would just lie out there. For hours. Looking up at the stars. Him, in hushed tones, telling me wonderful stories of far off countries and magical times. Then I'd start to get cold or drift off to sleep and my dad would piggy back me into bed. I was always asleep before my head hit the pillow." He smiled and looked down at her as he finished the story.

Meredith was overwhelmed with love for the man standing next to her. Something about him sharing that tiny chunk of his childhood with her had broken down her forces and she let all her hidden feelings for him come through. This tiny gesture made her want to tell him all her feelings then and there. But she knew she couldn't.

Brian shivered. "It's cold up here."

"Maybe because it's below freezing and you're up here in your pajamas." Meredith said with a smile. She then wrapped her arms around his neck, covering him with the blanket and hugging him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her back. After standing like this for a few long minutes Meredith broke the moment. "We should probably go back to bed," she said. "Another long day tomorrow."

"Fine," Brian said with a sigh and unwrapped himself from around her.

They headed towards the stairs side by side. When they got back to the living room they walked through the minefield of sleeping bodies back to their spot. Laying down Meredith snuggled close and wrapped her arms around Brian. They fell asleep cuddling once more.


	8. Chapter 8

Meredith woke up slowly. Sunlight streamed through the crack between her window and the shade, warming a small patch on her pillow. Meredith stretched and sat up. What time was it?

She glanced at her pink princess clock. Eleven-thirty?! She hadn't slept this late since…Meredith couldn't remember the last time she'd slept past 9:00! She always had an early rehearsal or audition or nannying. She bit her lip, trying to recall the dream she'd been having. She was onstage in her Mega-Girl costume, but it wasn't Starship. It seemed to be a mix of that and A Very Potter Sequel. Brian walked out in his Lupin costume, carrying a giant cake, "Congrats Meredif!" written in icing. Dream Meredith was about to dig in when Brian tripped and the cake splattered at her feet. He got the worst of it. Somehow, the icing word "Meredif" landed in tact right over Brian's heart. Real Meredith smiled. Sometimes it seemed like her dreams were trying to tell her something.

Meredith swung her feet out from under her heavy comforter and shuffled to the bathroom. Glancing at her face in the mirror, she noticed traces of last night's makeup that she'd missed. The show had been going fabulously well. Meredith herself was getting rave reviews from the fans in her role as Mega-Girl! Some of them even recognized her from Little White Lie! The audiences were so much fun and Meredith loved every minute of Starship- on and off stage. Her heart skipped a beat, thinking of the late night roof chat with Brian after opening night. He had seemed so vulnerable then, so innocent, that Meredith just wanted to hold him close, away from all the bad stuff in the world, if just to preserve that innocence.

_Snap out of it_, Meredith told herself, splashing cold water on her face and sending those last bits of leftover makeup down the drain. She went back to the bedroom to retrieve her phone when she noticed that the rest of her house was still snoozing. Well, this was a first. Meredith was usually the last one awake. She smiled at how young her friends looked in sleep. A piece of Jaime's hair had flopped in her face and fluttered up and down with each breath. Denise had her knees tucked under her chest and her butt sticking in the air. Meredith imagined that in the other room, Lauren was all sprawled out as usual and Julia was sleeping on her back with hands folded, being the perfect princess she was. She'd never realized it before, but being the first one up was kind of…nice. It was so quiet.

Meredith grabbed her phone and checked her messages as she walked to the kitchen. Facebook, facebook, Daddy…she clicked on the last message.

**_Morning Merebear! Happy Valentine's Day! I love you!_**

Valentine's Day? Meredith had completely forgotten! With the show this past weekend and hell week before that, she hadn't even thought about it! She checked the Glee calendar that Darren had given the girls and sure enough, Monday, February the 14th was today!

Meredith was about to text her dad back when she noticed a lurid pink card on the counter addressed to her. Curiously, she slit it open and skimmed the fancy cursive.

_ Roses are red,_

_ Violets are blue._

_ Love birds are singing,_

_ Cuckoo, cuckoo!_

It was unsigned. What in dead God's name? She checked the back just in case, but the ridiculous poem was the only thing written. _It can't be from Brian,_ Meredith decided disappointedly. _He's handwriting could never dream of being that neat._ She shook her head, deciding it was probably just a prank.

Because it was Valentine's Day, Meredith decided to surprise her friends with strawberry pancakes. Soon, Meredith was whisking the pink batter, humming "The Way I Do". She remembered how when she was little, Meredith's mom had made heart-shaped pancakes on Valentine's Day. Meredith decided to give it a shot.

It proved to be harder than it looked. Meredith's mom had just been able to pour the batter into a perfect heart, but Meredith's looked more like blobs. She finally made a batch recognizable as hearts, so she did a celebratory danced and almost burned them. After much sweat and teeth-grinding, Meredith finally produced a breakfast she was proud of.

Meredith was just dropping pink food coloring into the butter and syrup when a sleepy voice said, "Morning." Denise slumped onto the couch, still half-asleep. "Whas cookin?"

"Heart-shaped strawberry pancakes with pink syrup and butter! Happy Valentine's Day!" Meredith announced. This seemed to perk Denise up a bit and she strode into the kitchen.

"What's this?" asked Denise, picking up the pink card and scanning it quickly.

"I don't know. It was on the counter when I woke up. Weird, huh?" Meredith said as casually as she could. Denise shrugged. "We should serve the other girls breakfast in bed!" Meredith suggested. Denise readily agreed.

The girls piled the still-hot pancakes on red plates and prepared coffee just the way the sleeping girls liked it. Balancing two trays expertly (she had been a waitress in high school), Meredith walked to Julia and Lauren's room, while Denise headed to surprise Jaime.

Still clad in leggings and an over-sized sweatshirt (make-shift pjs), Meredith nudged open the door and flicked on the light switch with her elbow. "Happy Valentine's Day!" she proclaimed to a groggy-eyed Lauren and Julia.

"For me?" said Julia as Meredith settled a tray on her blanket-covered lap. Meredith replied with a smile.

"Thanks, Mere!" rasped Lauren. The stress of singing so much in the show had left all their throats a little raw.

"You're the best," said Jaime, entering the room with her tray, glasses sliding down her nose. Denise returned with plates for Meredith and herself, and the five girls started chowing down on the clothes-strewn floor of the smaller bedroom.

"Mmmm," breathed Julia, inhaling the lovely smell of her coffee.

"Dish panshakesh are delishush!" said Lauren, shoveling the hot food in her mouth.

"Oh, Meredith!" said Denise, swallowing. "Tell them about your secret admirer!" Jaime raised her eyebrows, interested.

Meredith told them all about the mysterious letter and awful poem she had received that morning. "And it wasn't signed?" screeched Lauren, food forgotten.

"Nope," replied Meredith. She speared a huge bite of pancake and shoved it in her mouth, hoping to end the topic. Unfortunately, she dribbled syrup on her sweatshirt in the process. "Darn it," she mumbled, licking her finger to wipe off the sticky pink.

"Is that Brian's sweatshirt?" asked Lauren curiously, exchanging glances with Julia and Denise.

"What?" Oh, hmm I guess, yeah," said Meredith, blushing. This caused another round of exchanged glances.

"So what are our plans for today?" said Denise after an awkward moment, sensing Meredith's discomfort.

"Well I'm assuming none of us have dates…" started Julia. Everyone nodded guiltily. "…So why don't we have a party? Cookie and card-making?" The girls started excitedly making plans.

Brian was running. Running harder and faster than he ever had before. He was in dark, eerie woods, and kept tripping over logs and getting tangled in prickle bushes, but he had to keep going. Another scream ripped through the trees. Brian willed his legs to go faster.

She was in trouble. A series of flashbacks zipped through his mind. Her name getting reaped. Then his name. Her looking so beautiful as they rode through the capitol in their golden chariot. Her hand clenching his so tight, the tips of his fingers turned blue. Her 9 in training scores. The sound of the gong that signaled the beginning of a fight for their lives. Loosing her in the bloodbath. Hearing her screams. Hoping, praying, she wasn't dead. Running and running and running in attempt to save her.

Brian came to a clearing. He unsheathed his knife he'd grabbed from the Cornucopia and pointed it in front of him, ready to attack anyone who came near. Sweat poured down his forehead. Another high-pitched scream started, but was cut off abruptly. Then he saw her.

Curled up in a ball. Dark curly hair spilling across the leaf-covered ground. Another tribute nearly on top of her, axe poised, ready to strike another blow. Then a loud beeping filled the air. The axe was swinging down. Her eyes squeezed shut. Almost there…

"MEREDITH!" Brian cried, sitting straight up in bed. The alarm was still blaring. He looked around, totally confused. Gone was the forest, the trees, the axe, the Games, and Meredith. Brian slammed his hand on his alarm clock, panting.

"Meredith?" said Dylan sleepily from across the room, curled up in his blankets with a little grin on his face.

"I-It was a dream! A nightmare! She was there-an axe was coming down, the Hunger Games…" rambled Brian, his mouth trying to catch up with his brain. He threw his covers off and sprang to his feet. "She almost died! Meredith almost died!" he said, running his fingers through his hair and making it stand on end.

"Dude, calm down. It was just a dream," reassured Dylan, stretching and sitting up. "Whoa! It's already 11:30!"

Brian's pulse still hadn't steadied. He just kept seeing Meredith lying on the floor, that axe coming closer…he shook his head, trying to rid himself of this feeling. He couldn't imagine what would happen if Meredith got hurt…a shiver went down his back and he shoved that thought out of his mind.

He threw a sweatshirt over his pajama bottoms and stumbled to the kitchen, still thinking about the dream. "Morning," said Clark cheerily from behind the stove where he was fixing bacon and eggs. "Breakfast?"

"Mmmm," was Brian's reply. He accepted the steaming plate from Clark and sat down at the kitchen table.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" greeted Joe Moses, taking a big bite of cereal.

"What? Oh, um thanks," said Brian. How could he have forgotten? His brain was still foggy from the nightmare he had.

"This came for you," said Darren slyly, sliding a pink envelope across the table and quickly shoving 10 times the normal amount of food in his mouth.

Huh? What could this be? Brian slit open the envelope neatly addressed to a "Mr. Brian Holden" and started reading.

Roses are red,

Violets are purple.

I really like you.

…nothing rhymes with purple.

Love, ?

_What the heck?_, thought Brian. "What the heck?" said Joey out loud, who had been reading over his shoulder. Interested, Darren snatched the poem out of Brian's hand, quickly scanned it, burst out laughing, then cleared his throat.

"Well, this is…sweet," Darren said finally. The letter was passed around until all of the Starkid boys had read it, much to Brian's embarrassment.

"Do you have some secret lover we don't know about?" asked Brant indignantly.

"What? No!" shouted Brian. "I have no idea who this is from!" But inside, his brain was screaming, "_Could it be from Meredith?"_

"Well its not from any of our girls," said Joe Walker plaintively. Everyone automatically knew that by "our girls", he meant Denise, Meredith, Julia, Jaime, and Lauren.

"Why not?" retorted Brian immediately.

"They write better poetry than this," was Joe's explanation.

"So what are we doing to celebrate my favorite holiday?" asked Nick from the kitchen where he was pouring himself a bowl of Lucky Charms.

"Well, seeing as none of us have dates…" said Corey, looking around to confirm this statement. The boys looked uncomfortable.

"I have a date," spoke up Jim. They looked at him in surprise. "…with my pillow." He yawned, obviously still worn out from the hectic weekend of shows.

"Anyway, I thought we should throw a party. Invite the girls over, make cards, bake cookies, watch sappy movies," suggested Corey. They boys liked this idea and quickly texted the girls the plan.

"Alright, I'll text the boys the plan and we can decide where we should have it," said Meredith. The girls had been busy planning the Valentine's Day party and they just kept coming up with bigger and bigger ideas. Julia finally had to draw the line at Lauren's suggestion of a chocolate slide that went from the roof of their apartment to the basement. "Oh, I think I left my phone in the kitchen." Meredith stacked the pink-stained breakfast dishes and plodded to the kitchen.

The second the door closed, Lauren smiled and pulled a phone out from under her t-shirt. "Is that Mere's?" asked Jaime in a hushed tone.

Lauren nodded. "And look who she just got a text from!" She quickly typed in the passcode to Meredith's iPhone and went to messages. "Meredith, you are the love of my life. Meet me at the pier at 3 so we can get married and live happily ever after!" read Lauren in a sing-song voice.

"Is that really what it says?" asked Julia, leaning in to look at the screen.

"Nooo!" giggled Lauren. "I wish! But Brian did invite us over at 3 for a Valentine's Day shindig, as he puts it."

"Yeah, I got one too, from Joey. I guess great minds think alike, eh?" said Jaime from behind her phone.

"So I'll just tell Brian that we'll be there? With lots of xoxo's love always Meredith?" said Lauren, already typing.

"Don't forget to wish him Happy Valentine's Day!" added Denise thoughtfully.

Lauren typed, **Wouldn't miss it for the world. Until then Happy Valentine's Day! XOXO Mere**, and pressed send with a flourish.

"Hey, have you guys seen my ph-" Meredith started. Lauren freaked and threw the phone halfway across the room. Meredith put her hand on her hip and held her palm out. Dejectedly, Lauren crawled to retrieve the phone and returned it to its owner. Meredith quickly scanned the screen. "Ooo party at Starkid Manor and-oh hey! Lauren!" She tackled the other girl and it quickly escalated to a full on pillow fight including all the girls. Meredith didn't know if she was happy, mad, or excited that Lauren had sent that message. _Why not?_ She thought as she smacked Julia with a pillow. _Its Valentine's Day, after all._

Brian was surprised at Meredith's reply. It was so…unlike her. Not that he minded her being all flirty…He shook his head, trying to rid her of his thoughts. The boys were hurriedly trying to straighten up Starkid Manor, which basically consisted of throwing all their crap in the bedrooms. Brian was supposed to be helping Nick tape up paper hearts, but he kept getting distracted.

"Is this straight?" Matt was standing on a chair, trying to hang a hastily made sign.

"As Neil Patrick Harris," said Darren, striding over to give Matt a hand. After about 3 rolls of tape and lots of prayers, they finally got all the decorations hung.

"What do we do with this?" asked Joe Moses, holding up a giant poster that a fan had given them after Starship.

"I'll throw it in my room. I think there's floor space somewhere," offered Joey, taking the poster.

"What is this?" came an indignant voice a few moments later. After a couple crashes and curses, Joey emerged from his bedroom holding up a deep red envelope. The boys looked up in surprise.

"Well, open it!" insisted Brant. Joey ripped open the envelope and laughed out loud when he read the letter.

"The Secret Cupid strikes again! This was on my pillow!" he exclaimed, holding out the rose-colored paper. In a child's handwriting was written:

Roses are pink

Other flowers are too.

Some guys are sweet

But there's no one like you!

"That's so- just awwww!" squealed Nick. The other boys were equally impressed.

"Its better than 'nothing rhymes with purple'," said Brian with a shrug and a grin.

"This is so mysterious, I love it!" said Darren. "Who will the Cupid strike next?"

"More importantly, who is the Cupid?" said Joe, raising his eyebrow.

"The world may never know," said Jim.

Two-thirty, and the girls were nearly ready to go. The dug out their stockpile of crafty things, including 6 bottles of glitter in 5 colors, nearly every color paper, markers, crayons, colored pencils, plus all their baking supplies. They were changing into their matching Valentine's outfits for the party: pink skirts, heart-printed tights, red sweaters, and a big bow in their hair.

Meredith was the last one ready, of course. She had just fastened her bow and was about to leave the bedroom when she noticed a ridiculously pink object on Jaime's quilt. "JAIME COME HERE," she shouted automatically.

"What what what?" said Jaime, running in. Meredith pointed and Jaime practically pounced on the envelope addressed to "Ms. Jaime Lyn". She slit it open with a little grin and read the poem out loud. "Roses may be red, and violets may be blue, but their beauty is nothing, compared to you. Love, your Secret Cupid." Meredith and Jaime squealed together.

Julia, Denise, and Lauren appeared in the doorway. "What happened?" Lauren screamed.

"The Secret Cupid strikes again!" Jaime squeaked, holding out the card.

"I thought someone died," Lauren said, letting out a breath she had been holding and taking the card.

The three girls read it silently. "Awww!" they said together.

"This cupid is too sweet!" Denise yelled excitedly.

"We gotta go! It's ten till!" Julia yelled. The girls scattered to grab their purses and the supplies. They squeezed into a car and rode the whole way singing silly love songs.

The boys were putting the finishing touches on their festive decorations. Everywhere you looked, pink, pink, and more pink. They had all donned their pink or red t-shirts, and Corey had even found some heart-printed socks. They were just trying to decide who's iPod to play when they heard a knock at the door.

"The party has arrived!" Lauren announced, waltzing through the door and dumping her load of supplies on the table. The other girls paraded in and were greeted with lots of hugs and happy valentine's days.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Mere!" Brian said, taking Meredith's heavy box from her.

"You too!" she said, giving a quick squeeze around the waist.

They set to work, singing and dancing as they stirred batter, cut paper, and glitterized everything. Darren taught them all the original Glee choreography (at least the parts he remembered) to "Silly Love Songs" and it put them all in the Valentine's mood. Meredith and Brian were working in the kitchen, busy putting sprinkles on the strawberry cupcakes. They suddenly found themselves alone as Brant left the room, muttering something about his mom.

Meredith leaned over the cupcakes, the tip of her tongue sticking out as she concentrated on getting the sprinkles just right. A sheet of curly dark hair fell in front of her face and without even thinking, Brian reached and tucked it behind her ear. She looked up, surprised to see him watching her. She passed him a bottle of sprinkles. "Make yourself useful!" she teased.

"Hey look!" Matt suddenly exclaimed from the living room. "Another secret Valentine! It's for you, Jim!" He presented the tall dude with a pink piece of cardstock folded in half and covered in glitter.

"Read it!" Corey demanded.

"We can play basketball, even though I'm not very tall. But if you want to, gosh darnit, we will play because I love you and its Valentine's Day!" Jim read, then grinned. "Thanks, Laur!" He gave the small, surprised girl a hug.

"How did you know it was me?" Lauren asked.

"Hmm let me see, who's the shortest one here?" Jim teased.

"So Lauren? You're the Secret Cupid?" Darren interrogated.

"I'm _a_ Secret Cupid," she replied coyly.

The Starkids really put their creativity to work. Denise somehow made a 3-D card, complete with pop-out heart, but she wouldn't say who it was for. Darren was in the corner with his guitar, working on a Valentine's Day song, but he wouldn't sing it for anyone. They were all suspicious of each other, and who the Secret Cupid would strike next.

"I GOT A CARD FROM THE SECRET CUPID," Joe Moses bellowed about 15 minutes later. Everyone gather around. "If I had one wish, it would not be a fish. It would be this: to give you a kiss."

"Awwwwww!" said everyone. Joe smiled and they all went back to work. Brian was in the kitchen, whipping up a heart-shaped cake with the help of Dylan and Joe Walker.

"Hey! Share the bowl!" Brian scolded, pulling the batter away from Dylan's fingers. They had just put the cake in the oven and were currently "cleaning up".

"Look who just got another Valentine!" announced Brant, walking in and presenting Joe Walker with an envelope.

"For me?" Joe said in his Umbridge voice. He slid the little poem out from the card.

_ I'll write you notes,_

_ If you feed my goats._

_ I'll make your favorite food,_

_ Because you're cool, dude._

_ I'll give you a flower,_

_ Because you sing in the shower._

_ I'll give you a massage,_

_ If you clean the garage._

_ I'll draw you hearts,_

_ If you ignore my farts._

_ I'll try not to step on your toes,_

_ As we dance._

Joe pressed his lips together and put his hand over his heart. "I wish I could thank my Cupid!" he said. The other boys stole the paper from his hand and awww-ed aloud as they read it. Joe quickly fled to the living room to make a card for his own Valentine.

"What rhymes with cookies?" Joe wondered aloud a bit later. He was laboring over his poem, which contained lots of scribbles and cross-outs.

"Ooo, let me get my rhyming dictionary!" Darren said from his corner, scurrying off to his suitcase. "Hey!" they heard him say from the bedroom. He ran out, clutching a huge dictionary and a red card. "Guess who just got visited by the Secret Cupid?" He plopped the dictionary down by Joe, who pounced on it and started pawing through the pages.

Darren's eyes darted across the poem. "We could cuddle," he read. "My heart would melt into a puddle. With your arms around me, will you be…my Valentine?" He paused. "YES!" he shouted to no one in particular, then went back to his guitar.

"Come and get it!" Brian announced. He carefully walked into the living room, carrying a fully icing-ed heart-shaped cake that read "Happy Valentine's Day!" His face was spread into a grin.

"STOP!" Meredith screamed. Brian skidded to a halt. Meredith rushed forward and took the cake from Brian, setting it on the table.

"What was that?" Brian asked, voicing everyone's confusion.

"Deja-vu," Meredith replied simply.

"You dreamt about me?" Brian said, touched and surprised.

"About you dropping a cake all over me. Didn't want to take any chances." Meredith leaned over to cut the cake, her dark curly hair hiding her red cheeks. Behind their backs, Denise exchanged a smug look with Dylan, then looked surprised that he looked as smug as she felt.

"Lookee what I gottttt!" Lauren announced, waving a paper around like a flag. She bounced up and down, her eyes moving quickly over the page.

_I'll bake you cookies,_

_ If you read me bookies._

_ I'll sing you tunes,_

_ If you make animal balloons._

_ I will hold your hand,_

_ If you take me Neverland._

_ I'll zip up your dress,_

_ If you make sure I'm not a mess._

_ I'll go the extra mile,_

_ Just to see you smile._

_ Please give me sign,_

_ And say you'll be mine. _

"Oh!" she yelped. "Oh." Lauren side-glanced at Joe, who was grinning like a fool. Julia looked between the pair and smiled knowingly.

"Dish cake ish yummy!" said Joey through a mouthful of dessert. "Have you had any yet, Jaime?" Jaime shook her head. "Here!" Joey scooped up a bit of his piece and airplaned it toward her mouth. He accidently aimed a little high and Jaime got pink icing all over her nose. "Oops." Jaime laughed and with her pinky finger, swiped some icing off the top of his cake and touched his nose.

"There. Now we're even," she said, taking a pinch of cake and putting it in her mouth. "Mmm, this is good, Bri." Nick came over and took a picture of his two goofy friends with icing on their faces.

In the corner, Darren was still busy working on some new song. "So this is how you get when you write music," Julia said with a rueful grin, sitting down cross-legged at his feet.

"Nice bow," he replied, flicking her hair lightly.

"So whatcha workin' on?" Julia said, sitting up on her heels to see.

"Oh nothing, nothing," Darren said, shuffling his papers nervously. Julia raised one eyebrow, a technique she'd perfected over the years.

"Okay," she shrugged. "Well I'm gonna go make cookies, care to join me?"

"The honor would be mine," Darren replied like a gentlemen, and held his hand out to help Julia up.

Brian decided to take matters into his own hands and write a Secret Cupid card of his own. He rifled through different shades of pink and red paper, looking for just the right color to write his poem on. He finally decided on a light magenta and tapped his pencil on the table, trying to find the right words.

"I got a Secret Cupid cardddd!" Clark proclaimed. He cleared his throat and read, "Its Valentine's Day! So say hooray! 'Cause you're my friend, and our love will never end!" They all cheered and Clark grinned.

The smell of burnt cookies filled the air. "Shoot!" they heard Julia yell from the kitchen. She and Darren quickly pulled their charred creations out of the oven.

"How did that happen?" Jaime asked, walking in to inspect the damage.

"Well we um got distracted and forgot to set the timer…" Darren started. Corey came in and sprayed air freshener everywhere to mask the smell.

"I'm hungry!" Lauren confessed around 5:30. She looked at Brian meaningfully, knowing about his cooking abilities.

"Why don't we order a pizza?" he suggested quickly. In about a half hour, a pizza delivery man knocked on the door and delivered 8 heart-shaped pizzas, which were soon devoured.

"Let's play hide-and-go seek!" suggested Nick, licking the red sauce off his fingers. Everyone chorused their agreements.

"Who's 'it'?" asked Denise.

"Nose goes!" screamed Joe Moses. Everyone's fingers jumped to their noses.

"Brian!" said Matt. Brian was coming out of the kitchen from throwing his plate away and had missed the whole conversation.

"Wha-hey! No fair!" he protested, but finally gave in. "One, two, three…" There was a mad dash for the coveted spot behind the couch, but Dylan, Jim, and Clark made it first, folding their long legs into the tight space.

Meredith's heartbeat picked up. This was her favorite part of hide-and-go seek: competing for the best spots. She ran to the kitchen, but Corey was already under the table and Joe Walker behind the curtain. Lauren had somehow gotten herself on top of the refrigerator and mouthed _sucker_ to Meredith from her awkward, crouched position. She just shook her head and dashed to the bathroom, where Nick and Denise were just closing the shower curtain. Meredith started getting nervous as she tried one of the bedrooms next. Joey was frantically trying to burrow into a pile of junk and Jaime slid behind the closet door. Were there any open hiding spots? Meredith tore throw the hallway just as Darren and Matt squished themselves into a closet. "35, 36…" came Brian's voice from the living room. "Shoot!" Meredith muttered under her breath. Julia breezed by her and threw herself under a bed, while Joe Moses flopped onto the bed and tried his best to look like a pile of blankets. "42, 43…" Meredith spun in circles, searching wildly for any place to hide.

_The roof._ Of course! Why hadn't she thought of it earlier? She took the stairs two at a time just as Brian said, "50! Ready or not, here I come!" The chilly air on the roof helped Meredith calm down a bit after her close call.

Snow was falling gently as Meredith leaned against the railing, gazing down at the streets of Chicago bathed in the golden light of the sunset. She closed her eyes and leaned into the cool breeze. Her fingers trailed the ice-covered railing until they came across a piece of paper. _What?_

Meredith opened her eyes to see a pink piece of paper taped to the railing with her name on it. Counting on the fact that no one would find her up here, she detached the note and unfolded it.

_Constant as the stars above,_

_ Always know that you are loved._

_ Meredith, you are my Evangeline._

_ Love always,_

_ Your Valentine._

Downstairs, Brian couldn't find anyone. He was always horrible at hide and go seek. _Think. If I was a Starkid, where would I hide?_ The roof. Of course! Brian was almost 100% sure that Meredith was up there now, confident that he would never find her. _Ha!_

A grin spreading across his face, he bounded up the stairs. Opening the door slowly, he saw her. She had her back to him, the setting sun outlining her in orange. Brian caught his breath. God, she was beautiful.

"Found you!" he said gently. She turned around, surprised, and stuck something in her back pocket.

"I thought you'd never find me!" Meredith exclaimed. "I need a new spot. I wish you guys had a cupboard under the stairs, that would be perfect." She looked at him, hoping he would get the reference. He did, of course.

"If I ever build a house, I will put a cupboard under the stairs, and that can be your room when you visit," Brian said earnestly.

"I'm holding you to that," Meredith teased. The letter hidden in her back pocket suddenly felt much heavier. "And I'll build a lovely roof like this on my house so we can always have a place to talk!" Brian smiled at this idea. They started talking about their dream homes and jobs. Brian said he wanted to write books that are made into movies that he can star in. His dream home included an indoor pool, a room made entirely of glass, a forest for playing Hunger Games, a stage, and of course, a cupboard under the stairs.. Meredith contemplated for a bit before deciding that she wanted to be a Disney Princess, and if that didn't work out, she would settle for playing a princess in a movie. Her dream _castle_ would have a slide that went from the top floor to the basement, a grand ballroom, a bubble room, a turret, and a balcony for star-gazing and long conversations.

Meanwhile downstairs, Lauren's calves were on fire. "God, Brian is the worst seeker ever," she said to no one in particular. Joe Walker poked his head out from behind the kitchen curtain.

"Where did he go? I think we've been hiding for like an hour," he said. From under the table, Corey tried to sit up and bonked his head.

"Ow!" he yelled. "How long have I been under here? I think I fell asleep."

"Laur, how did you get up there?" Joe asked, coming out completely from behind the curtain.

"I don't know, but just get me down!" Lauren's legs were starting to cramp. She jumped off the refrigerator and right into Joe's outstretched arms. "Ah thank God!"

"Yo, where's Brian?" said Jim from behind the couch. All the Starkids started peeking out of their hiding spots to see what was going on.

"Brian!" Darren yelled, coming out of the closet. "Brian?"

"Where could he be?" wondered Jaime, coming out of the bedroom with Joey trailing behind her.

"Did he even find anyone?" Nick asked, sliding out of the shower with Denise.

"Well, I heard someone go upstairs to the roof," added Matt.

"That was Meredith. I think she went up there to hide," said Julia,

"I heard two someones go upstairs," said Joe Moses. They all looked at each other and came to the realization at the same time. They shoved each other to get up the stairs quickly.

Lauren won. She burst through the roof door, interrupting Brian and Meredith midsentence. "You," (huff) "Are," (wheeze) "The worst," (heave) "Seeker," (gasp) "EVER." Brian blushed as everyone else crowded through the door, smiling mischiviously.

"Oh. Um sorry, I guess we forgot about the game,' Brian said sheepishly.

"No harm, no foul," replied Joey, a little too good-naturedly. Everyone headed downstairs, Meredith and Brian bringing up the back. Like a true gentleman, Brian held the door open and let Meredith descend the stairs in front of him. He noticed the corner of a pink piece of paper sticking out of her back pocket and his stomach clenched.

Since it was getting dark and they were all getting a little sleepy, they decided to watch a sappy movie to end their Valentine's Day party. Clark put in "When Harry Met Sally" and they all settled onto the couch or carpet. This was one of their favorite movies, so they all turned their attention to the screen. After about a half hour, Julia grabbed the remote and pushed pause. They all turned to look at her in protest.

"Alright guys, I can't stand it any longer," she said. "Who's the Secret Cupid?"

Silence. Then slowly, Lauren raised her hand. Then Joe Walker. One by one, every Starkid raised their hand, except Meredith. Julia reluctantly stuck her hand in the air too.

"I sent that first one to Meredith," confessed Denise. "The 'cuckoo' one?"

"I sent the 'nothing rhymes with purple' one to Brian," said Dylan. They all admitted to writing the various poems and cards, all except the one that Meredith received on the roof. Brian kept looking at her.

"What about this one?" Meredith said finally, pulling the card out. Jaime plucked it from her fingers and read it aloud. "Anyone?" Meredith asked after the "awww-ing" had died down.

Nothing. Brian's cheeks were burning and his stomach rolling. Julia shrugged and played the movie again. Meredith couldn't stop thinking about her Valentine. _You are my Evangeline._ She smiled at the Disney reference. Meredith didn't even allow herself to hope that the boy of her dreams had sent her this. He's not interested, she told herself. Right?


End file.
